Culture & Community | Hamden | Arts & Culture | Whitneyville
Danielle Campbell Photos.
When Dominique Williams realized she wanted to start a business, she didn’t know if she had the skills to pull it off. She hadn’t taken courses in finance or entrepreneurship. She was sure she wanted to be her own boss, but wasn’t sure what that entailed.
What she did have was her lived experience turning her own life around. It turned out that was the most important part of her plan.
On a recent Sunday, Williams brought that story to “Brown Skin Women Stand Up,” a panel discussion and luncheon from Black Corner Investments, Inc. at the Whitneyville Cultural Commons in Hamden. Speaking between lunch and a vendor fair, several Black women from across the greater New Haven area shared their own experiences, in hopes of inspiring those in the audience.
The clothing was all white for the evening. The décor was black and gold. There were yellow and pink rose petals lining the floor at the entrance. It was a night made to make the women and girls in the room feel celebrated—and by all accounts, they did.
Danielle Campbell Photos.
Speakers included Focus Salon Owner Pamela Jones, BlaqPearl Photography’s Teqoa “TQ” Griffith, Melissa Singleton of Unique Mobile Notary Services, caterer and entrepreneur Teyonda Riley, Hobson Tea owner Monsha Hobson, entrepreneur Johanna Davis, and Divine Designs’ Stacey Jensins-McCrea. IfeMichelle Gardin, who is the founder of Elm City LIT Fest and DiasporaCon, moderated.
“I put this event together to bring like-minded women together,” said organizer Kenia Massey, who runs Black Corner Investments, Inc. “And I think that part was the success of it. It did what it was supposed to do. It brought the women together. Brought a sisterhood. More women got to meet like-minded women.”
Throughout the panel, speakers pointed to the moments of clarity on their own professional journeys, in hopes of passing that spark on to attendees. Speaking minutes after Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl” played over the stage, Williams remembered a time when she was a “booster,” a slang term for someone who steals. It got her in trouble—she recalled lawyer fees that were prohibitive—and also inspired her to become an entrepreneur instead.
Facilitator IfeMichelle Gardin. Danielle Campbell Photos.
As she learned to be her own boss, Williams held on to the importance of giving back, she said. Now as the founder and head of Empowering Individuals Inc., she works closely with those who have experience with the carceral system and reentry, helping them navigate life and professional skills. Through the organization, she helps people search for and pursue jobs, secure IDs and birth certificates, and find safe and secure housing.
“We need to help people not re-offend again, because some people just don't know their way,” she said. “They never knew another way.”
Other business owners echoed her throughout the evening, noting the importance of self-care, curiosity giving back and faith in both a higher power and oneself. The founder of Light at the End of the Puzzle and Taste of Sin Mobile Bartending Event Services, Teyonda “Yonny” Riley spoke about the importance of being her own boss—and building a business she’s proud of.
“My reason for starting my business was I wanted to fire my boss,” she said to a few laughs. “In interviews, they always ask me, ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ And I say, ‘Firing you.’ And they say, ‘Well what does that mean?’ And I say, ‘What that means is that I don’t see myself working for anybody in five years except for me.’”
Danielle Campbell Photos.
She now does that every day in her work, she continued. Light at the End of the Puzzle is a vocational day program that works with adults with intellectual disabilities, part of her mission to be a net positive in the community. It’s geared towards helping them socialize as well as teaching job skills that eventually lead to actual job placement.
Several of Sunday’s speakers also stressed their desire to have a legacy that they can pass on. The owner of BlaqPearl Photography, artist Teqoa Griffith remembered helping both her father and husband start their radio stations, but not feeling like she got credit for the work. BlaqPearl, which has grown into a successful portrait studio and event photography business, has her name at the bottom.
“I wanted something with my name on it that was straight from me,” she said. The accomplishment is a legacy she wants to pass down to her kids, one of whom she tasked with taking photographs of the evening.
Listening closely as Griffith spoke, Focus Salon owner Pamela Jones said she also draws strength and inspiration from her family. Jones first learned about hair care and cosmetology from the women in her family, including both her mother and grandmother. She started her journey to becoming a stylist at 13, and was studying cosmetology by the time she graduated from high school. In her salon, she makes it a point to teach both her stylists and clients about hair care.
She created the acronym F.O.C.U.S., she said Sunday, with that mission in mind. It stands for flawless, opulent, captivating, unique style. It’s something she hopes to help her clients embody with her tips on how to properly care for their hair.
Danielle Campbell Photos.
That was also true for Johanna Davis, the owner of Three Queens Academy Financial Literacy Services. The three queens she refers to are her daughters, because she wants people of color to start teaching their kids the importance of financial literacy early in their lives.
“My four-year-old can tell you what a budget is,” Davis said. “She can tell you a budget is a plan for your money. My six-year-old will tell you a perfect credit report is an adult report card. So, it's up to us in our generation to reach back and teach our kids so they can have one foot up [and] a leg in.”
“Don’t expect everyone to [be a] champion for you,” Davis added. “It's okay if your family and friends don't support you. Everyone isn't your target audience. Take nothing personal.”
Other speakers returned to the idea of founding something that their younger selves would have wanted or benefitted from. Monsha Hobson spoke excitedly about Hobson Tea, a local lemonade and iced tea company that is becoming popular in the area and moving towards mass production.
Melissa Singleton, owner of Unique Mobile Notary Services, said she was inspired to create her business because of her own history of needing financial and professional help. Her previous job with the federal government had her out of work for two years, she said.
The pandemic was what she described as her rock bottom—but it was also time she took to rebuild. Creating her business gave her the freedom to conduct business on her terms.
“It gave me the permission and power to control my life,” she said. “What I do. When I do it. How I do it and the morals and ethics that I wanted to move by in regards to creating a business for myself and my family.”
Their dedication didn’t go unnoticed. At one point early in the evening , a number of models lined up to give panel members red roses to commemorate the work they have done to set an example of success.
One of those models was Shaquana Thomas, owner of Queens n’ Tingz mobile bar and the 360 photo area set up for the night. She said she was inspired by the speakers, particularly as she embarks on her own small business journey. After the panel, she noted how Williams helped her build her business by being a client of hers early on and helping to teach her the ins and outs of owning a salon.
“I am here with my little one as we are learning, so we can elevate even more,” she said.